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     In college, Spring Break (春假) is usually associated with the beach, parties and sleepless nights, bringing
about relaxation, free time and friends. Students who wish to spend their break doing something productive
and rewarding, however, may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program. It places college students
in communities both at home and abroad.
     The Program allows students to take part in various projects dealing with issues such as literacy (識字),
homelessness and the environment. It includes helping kids with their lessons, raising money for families in
need and collecting data for environmental research.
     The hope is that, by getting themselves involved in different environments, students will have the
opportunity to learn about members of communities and broaden their view. In turn, they will incorporate (融
合) their experiences and lessons learned into their own communities. In a word, the Program aims to
encourage students to be active citizens and engage themselves in making a difference in society.
     In the spring of 2006, about 36,000 students in the USA participated in the Alternative Break Program.
     Samantha Giacobozzi, now director of the Program, has been on five alternative break trips herself,
including trips to New Orleans, India and Dominican Republic. "I was a student who went on alternative break
trips and had my life totally transformed by that experience," she said. "Every year, we meet many students
who have attended the Program. You can see changes in their life that are connected with their alternative
break experiences."
     The Program began in 1991. Today, it has become increasingly popular with college students in the United
States.

1. Who may choose to participate in the Alternative Break Program? (No more than 10 words)
    _____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the aim of the Program? (NO more than 15 words) 
    _____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the meaning of the underlined word "transformed" in Paragraph 5? (1 word) 
    _____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What is Samantha's attitude toward the Program?(No more than 10 words)
    _____________________________________________________________________________________
5. If you take part in the Program, which project are you interested in? And why? (No more than 25 words) 
    _____________________________________________________________________________________

     One evening in February 2007, a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote road in
Wales. She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path. That's when she heard the whistle sounded by
the driver of a train. Her Renault Clio was parked across a railway line. Seconds later, she watched the train
drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks.
     Ceely's near miss made the news because she blamed it on the GPS (導航儀). She had never driven the
route before. It was dark and raining heavily. Ceely was relying on her GPS, but it made no mention of the
crossing. "I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train," she told
the BBC.
     Who is to blame here? Rick Stevenson, who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail Us, points
the finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers
are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And it's not just GPS devices: Stevenson
takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless keyboards.
     The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses on digital technology,
while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper
map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. Perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for
poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really
is something specific wrong with the GPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn't say.
     It's a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an account of the advanced
techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent
sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once again not
all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it's also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets.
Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors.
     The game between humans and their smart devices is amusing and complex. It is shaped by economics and
psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be a way for a wiser
use of technology.
     If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines.
After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long.

1. What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident?

A. She was not familiar with the road.
B. It was dark and raining heavily then.
C. The railway workers failed to give the signal.
D. Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing.

2. The phrase "near miss" (Paragraph 2) can best be replaced by _____.

A. close hit
B. heavy loss
C. narrow escape
D. big mistake

3. Which of the following would Rick Stevenson most probably agree with?

A. Modern technology is what we can't live without.
B. Digital technology often falls short of our expectation.
C. Digital devices are more reliable than they used to be.
D. GPS error is not the only cause for Ceely's accident.

4. In the writer's opinion, Stevenson's argument is _____.

A. one-sided
B. reasonable
C. puzzling
D. well-based

5. What is the real concern of the writer of this article?

A. The major causes of traffic accidents and car thefts.
B. The relationship between human and technology.
C. The shortcomings of digital devices we use.
D. The human unawareness of technical problems.

                                                         Mapping Your World
     Different forms of maps are appearing. They allow independent travelers to get local knowledge of places
they are visiting, from the official to the unusual. Meanwhile, hi-tech developments are creating new ways for
us to map the world. Here are two of our favorites;
     Green Maps
     Green Maps allows people to share with the world their knowledge of environmentally friendly places and
attractions in the local areas. Users add information with a set of icons (圖標, making It easy to read any map,
whatever the nationalities of those who produce it. At present there are over five hundred map projects being
developed in 54 countries Green Maps' advertised idea is "think global, map local". It is a wonderful way of
gaining all sorts of a place, running from community garden to good places of bird watching.
     Green Maps is not specifically intended for travelers. Not all of its maps are online, so it may be necessary
for some users to communicate with producers through the Green Maps website.
     Maps Mashups
     Many people use online maps developed by Google, but not many know about the mashups of them.
Working in a similar way to Green Maps, Maps Mashups allows people to add icons of their own to existing
maps to express a certain topic. The mashups is so called because it combine all the knowledge you could ever
need. It ranges from the extremely useful, such as where all the World. Heritage Site are, to the most bizarre
(古怪的), such as where America's munkest cities are. With the mashups added to the basic Google Maps, a
multi-layered (多層的) map can be created.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is a characteristic of Green Maps?

A. Aiming at environmental protection.
B. Introducing local attractions with icons.
C. Offering advice to independent travelers.
D. Collecting icons worldwide for local maps.

2. Which of the following icons is most probably NOT used in Green Maps?

A.   B.   C.   D.

3. Map Mashups is named with the word "mashups" because _____.

A. it is produced by users all over the world
B. it gathers various kinds of information
C. it shares icons with Green Maps
D. it is a branch of Google Maps

4. What do Green Maps and Map Mashups have in common?

A. They are created by local people.
B. They are environmentally friendly.
C. Users can edit maps on the Internet.
D. Users need to communicate with produces.

     Something in chocolate could be used to stop coughs and lead to more effective medicines, say UK
researchers.
     Their study found that theobromine, found in cocoa, was nearly a third more effective in stopping
coughs than codeine, which was considered the best cough medicine at present.
     The Imperial College London researchers who published their results online said the discovery could
lead to more effective cough treatment. "While coughing is not necessarily harmful (有害的) it can have
a major effect on the quality of life, and this discovery could be a huge step forward in treating this
problem," said Professor Peter Barnes.
     Ten healthy volunteers (志愿者) were given theobromine, codeine or placebo, a pill that contains no
medicine, during the experiment. Neither the volunteers nor the researchers knew who received which
pill. The researchers then measured levels of capsaicin, which is used in research to cause coughing and
as a sign of how well the medicine is stopping coughs.
     The team found that, when the volunteers were given theobromine, the capsaicin need to produce a
cough was around a third higher than in the placebo group. When they were given codeine they need only
slightly higher levers of capsaicin to cause a cough compared with the placebo.
     The researchers said that theobromine worked by keeping down a verve activity (神經(jīng)活動), which
cause coughing. They also found that unlike some standard cough treatments, theobromine caused no side
effects such as sleepiness.

1. According to Professor Barnes, theobromine _____.

A. cannot be as effective as codeine
B. can be harmful to people's health
C. cannot be separated from chocolate
D. can be a more effective cure for coughs

2. What was used in the experiment to cause coughing? 

A. Theobromine.
B. Codeine.
C. Capsaicin.
D. Placebo.

3. We learn from the text that volunteers in the experiment _____.

A. were patients with bad coughs
B. were divided into the three groups
C. received standard treatments
D. suffered little side effects

4. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Codeine: A New Medicine
B. Chocolate May Cure Coughs
C. Cough Treatment: A Hard Case
B. Theobromine Can Cause Coughs

     Plants can't communicate by moving or making sounds, as most animals do. Instead, plants produce
volatile compounds, chemicals that easily change from a liquid to a gas. A flower's sweet smell, for example,
comes from volatile compounds that the plant produces to attract insects such as bugs and bees.
     Plants can also detect volatile compounds produced by other plants. A tree under attack by hungry insects,
for instance, may give off volatile compounds that let other trees know about the attack. In response, the other
trees may send off chemicals to keep the bugs away-or even chemicals that attract the bugs' natural enemies.
     Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying: a chemical sensor (傳感器)
called an electronic nose. The "e-nose" can tell compounds that crop plants make when they're attacked.
Scientists say the e-nose could help quickly detest whether plants are being eaten by insects. But today the only
way to detect such insects is to visually inspect individual plants. This is a challenging task for managers of
greenhouses, enclosed gardens that can house thousands of plants.
     The research team worked with an e-nose that recognizes volatile compounds. Inside the device, 13 sensors
chemically react with volatile compounds. Based on these interactions, the e-nose gives off electronic signals
that the scientists analyze using computer software.
     To test the nose, the team presented it with healthy leaves from cucumber, pepper and tomato plants, all
common greenhouse crops. Then the scientists collected samples of air around damaged leaves from each type
of crop. These plants had been damaged by insects, or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole
punch (打孔器).
     The e-nose, it turns out, could identify healthy cucumber, pepper and tomato plants based on the volatile
compounds they produce. It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged. But even more impressive,
the device could tell which type of damage - by insects or with a hole punch-had been done to the tomato leaves.
     With some fine tuning, a device like the e-nose could one day be used in greenhouses to quickly spot harmful
bugs, the researchers say. A device like this could also be used to identify fruits that are perfectly ripe and ready
to pick and eat, says Natalia Dudareve, a biochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. who studies
smells of flowers and plants. Hopefully, scientists believe, the device could bring large benefits to greenhouse
managers in the near future.

1. We learn from the text that plants communicate with each other by _____.

A. making some sounds
B. waving their leaves
C. producing some chemicals
D. sending out electronic signals

2. What did the scientists do to find out if the e-nose worked?

A. They presented it with all common crops.
B. They fixed 13 sensors inside the device.
C. They collected different damaged leaves.
D. They made tests on damaged and healthy leaves.

3. According to the writer, the most amazing thing about the e -nose is that it can _____.

A. pick out ripe fruits
B. spot the insects quickly
C. distinguish different damages to the leaves
D. recognize unhealthy tomato leaves

4. We can infer from the last paragraph that the e-nose _____.

A. is unable to tell the smell of flowers
B. is not yet used in greenhouses
C. is designed by scientists at Purdue
D. is helpful in killing harmful insects

     The term "multitasking" originally referred to a computer's ability to carry out several tasks at one time.
For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent
mental aerobic exercises (大腦訓練) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a
time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature
for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show
that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
     In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前額葉腦皮層). Brian scans
of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of
the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex
"moment of rest" yourself if you've ever dialed (撥電話) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you
dialed when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering,
your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that "moment" to come back. Research has also
shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when
they perform only one task at a time.
     Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people
don't find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-
requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.
     We often don't remember things as well when we're trying to manage several details at the same time.
Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes
it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people's names-even sometimes right
after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks
their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can
also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.

1. Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?

A. To make them more productive.
B. To reduce their stress and anxiety.
C. To develop their communication skills.
D. To help them perform daily tasks more easily.

2. According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?

A. He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.
B. He is probably interrupted by another task.
C. He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.
D. He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.

3. People tend to make mistake when _____.

A. they perform several challenging tasks at a time
B. new messages are processed one after another
C. their relationships with others are affected
D. the tasks require little thought

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Multitasking has become a way of life.
B. Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.
C. Multitasking exercises need to be improved.
D. Multitasking enables people to remember things better.

     Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat.
Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power source (來源), as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows
that windmills (風車) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first
introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of
using wind power.
     For many centuries, people used windmills to grind (磨碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep
underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote areas began to use
them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the1940s
when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.
    During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and
gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last
forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher coasts. Today, there is a global movement
to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.

1. From the text we know that windmills _____.

A. were invented by European armies
B. have a history of more than 2800 years
C. used to supply power to radio in remote areas
D. have rarely been used since electricity was discovered

2. What was a new use for wind power in the late l9th century?

A. Sailing a boat.
B. Producing electricity.
C. Grinding wheat into flour.
D. Pumping water from underground.

3. One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970 is that _____.

A. wind power is cleaner
B. it is one of the oldest power sources
C. it was cheaper to create energy from wind
D. the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs

4. What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. The advantage of wind power.
B. The design of wind power plants.
C. The worldwide movement to save energy.
D. The global trend towards producing power from wind.

                                              Students and Technology in the Classroom
     I love my blackberry-it's my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love
my laptop computer, as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that
there are times when I need to move away from these devices (設備) and truly communicate with others.
     On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals
for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly
study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule -no laptop, iPads,
phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.
     Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students
misusing technology. There's a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There's
no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.
     The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places
in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often
break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to
dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and
make connections between the course the material and the class discussion.
     I've been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student
satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they
learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.
     I'm not saying that I won't ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear
a really good reason for the change, I'm sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just
too sweet to give up.

1. Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with _____.

A. the course material
B. others' misuse of technology
C. discussion topics
D. the author's class regulations

2. The underlined word "engage" in Para.4 probably means _____.

A. explore
B. accept
C. change
D. reject

3. According to the author,the use of technology in the classroom may _____.

A. keep students from doing independent thinking
B. encourage students to have in-depth conversations
C. help students to better understand complex themes
D. affect students' concentration on course evaluation

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author _____.

A. is quite stubborn
B. will give up teaching history
C. will change his teaching plan soon
D. values technology-free dialogues in his class